Bowers & Wilkins P5 Series 2 Review

These are really comfortable headphones, and that’s coming from someone who usually can’t stand on-ears. They’re quite visually appealing as well, and seem like the perfect size for walking around (I bought them for commuting and work). Isolation is decent, but still lets enough ambient sound in to keep you aware of the environment (another point in the “walking around cans” column).

The inline mic/remote is nice and clicky, but the volume buttons can be a bit awkward to press, since it’s a cylinder instead of the EarPod-style elliptic cylinder/roundrect. I find my fingers looking for the multi-button indent first, then going up or down from there instead of just grabbing the top or bottom right away.

I haven’t heard any microphonics; probably at least in part because of the replaceable cable. It’s a slightly non-standard 3.5mm -> 2.5mm cable, but still better than something soldered in. The actual jack is located underneath the left cup. Both cups are magnetically attached and pop off for cleaning/replacement — super neat.

Finally, sound quality. These are definitely some of the most… “opinionated” headphones/speakers I have (compared to my current regulars: AKG K240, and Beyerdynamic DT 770). In terms of flat frequency response, they don’t even get close Bowers & Wilkins’ own MM-1 desktop speakers (where most of my non-headphone listening happens at the moment). However, since I got these for a commute/work pair and won’t be doing any mixing work on them, flat frequency response wasn’t the primary concern. They’re very pleasant, opinionated in the right ways for casual listening, and most importantly aren’t fatiguing at all.

Recommended.

 
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Crockford

If there is anything inaccurate or inequitable about the following post, please email me or send me a tweet to discuss it. When I was about 11 years old, I started getting into politics. Anyone who has met me in the last 12 years would... Continue →